


Arriving on Earth

by yoshikoblack



Category: Original Work, The Story of Yoshiko Black
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-15
Updated: 2019-02-15
Packaged: 2019-10-28 17:13:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 770
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17791457
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yoshikoblack/pseuds/yoshikoblack





	Arriving on Earth

“Tell me, Julie,” Yoshiko said as he looked around at all the creatures getting off the ship. “I assume Helvetian will not be an option for me…”

Julie shook her head when Yoshiko’s eyes momentarily rested on her.

“You will have to learn one of Earth’s numerous languages,” she answered. “It depends on the nationality you are given with your identification card, and what your name translates to up here.”

“They will translate my name?” Yoshiko was worried of losing the name which Kasumi had given him and which he had since then treasured.

Julie shrugged and started to rummage through the little pouch she carried on her waist. She pulled up an odd looking piece of hard material onto which was neatly written what Yoshiko assumed was her name and a series of numbers that looked like dates, along with a miniature portrait of her.

“It is called an ID,” Julie explained, handing it to Yoshiko. “It states your full name - in the language of whichever Earthian nationality is give to you - your birthday, how long the card is valid, and your nationality of course.”

Yoshiko looked closely at the card. It must have been a very skilled artist to have been able to make such a detailed yet small portrait of someone.

“See here,” Julie pointed at the top row of letters. “That is my translated name. Well, actually, it is my real name. My Helvetian name is my translated one.”

“Julie Fantasy,” Yoshiko read with a thick Helvetian accent.

“Better than nothing,” Julie chuckled at Yoshiko’s pronunciation. “We better get in line or we will never get out of here.” She pushed Yoshiko gently towards the forming line at the end of the dock.

“What do you think my translated name will be?” Yoshiko wondered, and Julie could hear the anxiousness in his voice.

“Let me see,” she said slowly, thinking it over. “How do you spell your name?”

“Yuxhecu.”

Julie went over the Helvetian letters in her head, translating them one by one.

“Yoshiko,” she said after a moment, and looked up at him. “It sounds Japanese.”

“Japanese?” Yoshiko had no idea what that meant.

“It is not the easiest language to learn, but I am sure you could do it. Do you have another name? Or is it simply Yuxhecu?”

“Yuxhecu Ice Wrisc,” Yoshiko replied.

“Aki… B- Black!”

“That sounds odd,” Yoshiko grimaced at the sound of his new name.

“Bilingual,” Julie corrected. “It means you could also be English with a surname like Black. Much easier. I would pick that if I were you.”

“Thank you for your advice.”

 

 

“ID?”

Yoshiko looked at the fat man sitting on the other side of the table.

“It is his first time on Earth,” Julie said from over Yoshiko’s shoulder and smiled when the customs officer glared at her.

The man sighed heavily before saying: “Name?”

Yoshiko said his full name and made sure to pronounce it properly so the man could spell it right and give him the easier nationality.

“Yoshiko Aki Black,” the customs officer said while scribbling it down on a sheet of paper. “Congratulations. You get to choose if you want to be Japanese, Finnish, or English.”

Finnish hadn’t been one of Julie’s suggestions, so Yoshiko quickly looked over at her questioningly. She mouthed the word “English” and nodded encouragingly.

“English, please,” Yoshiko replied and the man wrote it down.

“Okay, kid, here is the deal: you have sort of Asian looks, and an Asian first name…”

Yoshiko swallowed. Had he done something wrong?

“…so I will grant you a British nationality.” The customs officer continued scribbling down Yoshiko’s new information with a dull look on his face as he spoke. “But if someone were to ask, you are adopted.” The man gestured along the table as a sign for Yoshiko to move on to the next checkpoint. “Next!”

Julie gently motioned for Yoshiko to go as she stepped up to the fat man with her ID in hand.

Yoshiko was confused to what had just happened, but went along, hoping Julie would explain when they eventually got out of the line. The man hadn’t mentioned anything about English after he’d made his choice.

Julie was soon right back behind him and told Yoshiko that Britain was a good choice, and that their major language was English. Yoshiko vaguely wondered why the nation and their language had different names.

“That’s good,” Julie added with a smile. “I’m British too, so I’ll teach you as much as possible.”

With her reassurance Yoshiko felt a slight glimmer of hope for his new life on Earth.


End file.
